Risk management platform Thirdfort has agreed an affiliate partnership with the Law Society to help lawyers better meet their Know Your Client (KYC), Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Source-of-Funds (SoF) compliance requirements.
Thirdfort has just secured £15m in Series A funding to double down on the legal sector and help lawyers manage the growing compliance burden. This comes as regulators clamp down on dirty money in a bid to tackle the UK’s escalating money laundering and payment fraud nightmare.
The agreement will see the two organisations work together for the benefit of the Law Society’s more than 150,000 members, which includes all qualified practising solicitors in England and Wales. As a result, Thirdfort and the Law Society will co-create advice and guidance to help members navigate growing fraud and money laundering risks.
Thirdfort’s risk engine rapidly informs professionals of risks with onboarding and allows them to begin transacting with new clients, whether individuals or corporates. The risk engine is powered by best-in-class KYC and AML services alongside Open Banking and transaction-specific data. The firm has seen growing demand from mid-to-large-sized law firms and conveyancers that typically lack the capabilities to integrate multiple pieces of software and automate SoF checks.
The business already onboards clients on behalf of 700 businesses, including law firms such as Penningtons Manches Cooper, Humphries Kirk and DAC Beachcroft, and conveyancers such as Thomas Legal, among others. Thirdfort also partners with Dye and Durham, TM Group, Xpress Legal Services as well as insurance underwriter Inperio.
Thirdfort recently raised £15m in a Series A funding round. The business will use the funds to ramp up growth and product development, in line with its vision to build a seamless and flexible platform for beautifully secure client onboarding.
Olly Thornton-Berry, co-founder and Managing Director at Thirdfort, said:
“With spiralling payment scams, and money laundering now costing the UK economy £100bn annually, regulated professionals face an ever-growing risk and compliance burden. Manually tackling this burden is not only costly but the client experience suffers from transactions bogged down by paper, endless repetition, and increased fraud risk. Our partnership with the Law Society enables us to work closely with the Society to enable its members and their clients to move fearlessly.”
Fiona O’Mahony head of partnerships at the Law Society, said:
“Thirdfort is an innovative provider of KYC, AML and SoF verification for lawyers, supporting professionals as they face an ever more regulated business environment. We are delighted to partner with Thirdfort and look forward to working closely with them to ensure our members get the help they need.”
This partnership quickly follows Thirdfort’s recent product launch of AML checks for corporate clients. Using real-time access to government registers around the world and best in class Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) discovery, businesses using Thirdfort can complete seamless AML checks on corporate entities. For law firms, this Company Checks tool ensures Thirdfort is their one-stop compliance solution.
As part of the partnership, Thirdfort is offering 50 free ID and SoF checks to any Law Society member firms that sign up with Thirdfort. Member firms can sign up here. The firm will also host a risk and compliance webinar on 27th April with the Law Society.
This article was submitted to be published by Thirdfort as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
